That’s an exceptionally high price to pay for a rental, so presumably, the Avalanche felt they needed Foote’s experience and toughness on a blue line that had been relatively soft all season.

Earlier, they surrendered Karlis Skrastins and a third-rounder to the Florida Panthers for Ruslan Salei, who hadn’t played in Colorado before but was an effective player for Anaheim when they made that unexpected run to the 2003 Stanley Cup final.

A little known fact: Salei averaged above 26 minutes for the then Mighty Ducks in that playoff run. Salei is a quietly effective player. On the Panthers, he was second in overall ice time behind only Jay Bouwmeester, generally a pretty good indication of how important a role a player can have.

The Avs have been freefalling lately, after managing to win games without their big stars.

Now, as the stars filter back into the lineup, and the Avs get Foote and Forsberg into the lineup, Canucks fans like myself are nervous about Colorado re-finding their groove.

And, yes, Slew-foot Salei is a fine defenseman that gets little notice. Skrastins was clearly skating around with a fork in his back, and the Avs needed an upgrade on D.